Beginning today, all Automobile Club of Southern California branches are offering Metro ExpressLane transponders at a 20 percent discount exclusively for Auto Club members. Currently, Auto Club branches are the only retail locations outside of Metro customer centers where the transponders can be obtained.
Existing and expanded carpool lanes will become ExpressLanes open to both toll-paying solo drivers and carpoolers on the Harbor Freeway (Interstate 110) later this year and along Interstate 10 in East Los Angeles next year. All drivers, whether driving alone or in a carpool, will be required to have a transponder to use the Metro ExpressLanes.
FastTrak transponders obtained at Auto Club branches will have $40 in preloaded toll credit, but members will be charged just $32. Auto Club members can also acquire transponders online and receive the AAA discount by visiting http://AAA.com/metroexpresslanes. Drivers must activate their transponders after purchase by establishing accounts with Metro.
“The Auto Club is excited to offer an initial discount on ExpressLane tolls to members online and at 80 Auto Club branches throughout Southern California,” said Steve Finnegan, the Auto Club's government affairs manager. “Creative solutions to Southern California’s traffic congestion problems are sorely needed, and drivers can use every break they can get these days.
“We hope that opening the I-110 and I-10 carpool lanes to toll-paying solo drivers will provide a new option and improve congested traffic conditions for everyone,” Finnegan added.
The FastTrack transponders available at Auto Club branches can be used for automatic toll payments on all toll roads and express lanes in California, including the 91 Express Lanes and toll roads in Orange and San Diego counties. This program will enable solo drivers to ride on parts of the former I-110 and I-10 carpool-only lanes by paying a variable toll between 25 cents and $1.40 per mile, depending on the traffic congestion in the lanes. Toll rates in other counties differ. Carpool drivers will not be charged tolls to use the Metro ExpressLanes.